PORTLAND (AP) – Emergency dispatchers from around Maine gathered in Portland for training in how to respond to chemical and biological incidents.

Dispatchers have been forced to redefine their jobs in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

The key to handling calls involving weapons of mass destruction is knowing what information may be essential to the emergency workers responding, said Dorothy Harrison, who was installed as president Wednesday of the National Emergency Number Association.

Potentially vital information includes the appearance and smell of a chemical and the symptoms of people who may be affected, Harrison said.

The meeting Wednesday also honored dispatchers who have excelled in the previous year, recognizing behind-the-scenes work that was essential to public safety.

Phil Moody, a dispatcher with the Maine State Police in Orono, was named telecommunicator of the year for his handling of an emergency call that at first seemed like a “ghost” call, with no one speaking to him. As he listened closely though, he could hear a woman asking a man why he wanted to kill himself and eventually learned that the man had a gun.

Moody determined the address of the home and sent emergency workers to the house who were able to disarm the man and get him medical attention.

Others honored for their work include:

– Chris Hultman, of South Portland Public Safety, who calmed the parents of a child who was choking, then instructed them in how to dislodge the item in the child’s airway.

– Eric Kramarz, of the Maine State Police in Gray, who received a call from a couple on their way to the hospital with a baby who was not breathing. Kramarz instructed the couple in emergency medical techniques which restored the child’s breathing, helping to save its life.

– Kenneth Baird, Freeport Public Safety, who managed numerous calls about a mobile home that had exploded.

AP-ES-04-03-03 0216EST

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